In each of U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,155 to Sherman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,420 to Ganz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,757 to Bertrand, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,079 to Wood, there is shown an article wrapper for one or more rows of articles. In this prior art, there are tabs protruding from each of the side panels so that the wrapper can be tightened during formation. The compression tabs, as called in the trade, are visible and interrupt the side panels making the package less desirable from an aesthetic point of view. The manufacturer of the goods being packaged usually spends substantial funds in multi-color printing on the paperboard and having uninterrupted side panels would thus be very desirable.
In addition, in some wrapper-type cartons a film is tightly wrapped around the article wrapper and with the prior art style, there is the possibility of the film being ruptured by the side protruding tabs. Even if a wraparound film is not utilized, the protruding tab also present the the possibility of engagement with an adjacent article wrapper when the article wrappers are stacked. Also, when the wrapper is directly resting on a display shelf, the tabs are likely to engage and hang on the front shelf edge, shelf dividers or other protrusions, making the packages difficult to pick up or shift. When the tabs are thus struck and mutilated, the packages become even less desirable from an appearance standpoint.